Clothing meant for more than just wearing and the first mountaineering tent to stand up on its own without poles were among innovations on display at the Outdoor Retailer winter show in Salt Lake City.

These days, outerwear doesn’t just get worn, it does something – it can keep you toasty with battery-powered heating coils, fight body odor, require less washing or glow with luminescence.

More winter jackets are now coming equipped with an electronic signature that can help rescuers find a skier who gets lost or caught in an avalanche. The thumb-size RECCO reflectors, attached to jackets, work with proprietary detectors being deployed by ski areas in the West after gaining popularity in Europe.

The reflectors are no substitute for avalanche beacons that can help one backcountry skier dig out another in a hurry. Only professional rescue crews are using RECCO detectors, and a buried skier who has to wait for their arrival is more likely to die. The system is more useful for finding bodies or skiers who get lost in the woods.

The jacket of the future also could guard a skier against a hard fall. Spyder Active Sports Inc. is using a new, flexible material inside Olympic race suits that instantly stiffens on impact to protect elbows and shins.

Also part of apparel’s future are multicolored, luminescent “threads” that take their power from tiny batteries.

“We’d like to light the outdoor industry,” said Avi Timor, president of Elam USA, showing off coils of electroluminescent wire, which can be woven into everything from clothing to dog leashes and already has found a place in toys and games.

Many tents have shed the rainfly, using waterproof, breathable fabric to save weight, but Nemo Equipment of Nashua, N.H., is out with a tent that doesn’t even need poles, using inflatable air bladders instead for support.

The tents can be set up within minutes with a tiny hand or foot pump that fills airtight fabric chambers that turn remarkably stiff under pressure, letting the tents absorb and rebound from high winds that could snap an aluminum pole.

– Associated Press

As you comment, please be respectful of other commenters and other viewpoints. Our goal with article comments is to provide a space for civil, informative and constructive conversations. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem to be defamatory, rude, insulting to others, hateful, off-topic or reckless to the community. See our full terms of use here.

More in Things to Do

Throughout the Palace Theatre's first year, plenty of fans have stopped former Mayor Chris Coleman to chat about the onetime vaudeville house that's been transformed into a music venue. They have good things to say.

Danai Gurira kicks butt as Okoye in the hit movie “Black Panther,” but her prowess as a playwright is even more impressive. Inspired by her own immigrant family, the play “Familiar” at the Guthrie Theater is as powerful as a thrust from Okoye’s spear. RELATED: Women of 'Black Panther' take center stage Of course, given the endless arguments over immigration...

First of all, you don't want to go to this exhibit in your stocking feet. It's not sanitary, of course, but also because there are just too many of those little plastic blocks for unprotected feet to navigate without nervousness. The Science Museum of Minnesota's newest visiting exhibition, "Towers of Tomorrow with Lego Bricks," has more than 700,000 Lego pieces...

Cherry blossom festivals, tulip time and lilac season is nearly upon us. Here’s a look at some of the places that celebrate spring flowers with festivals and other events. TULIP TIME You could go to the Netherlands to see the Keukenhof gardens in Lisse, which are planted with 7 million flowering bulbs — tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and more — blooming...

In the midst of its mission to educate and inspire young audiences, Minneapolis’ Children’s Theatre Company periodically pauses to deliver a show that seems to have no higher calling than just getting the little kids to giggle. “Corduroy” is such a show. Yes, it’s built upon Don Freeman’s popular picture book about a teddy bear wreaking havoc in a department...

World Storytelling Day events take place on or around March 20 in 25 countries. And in St. Paul, storytellers will be slinging tales Tuesday, March 20, for adults and Saturday, March 24, for children at Landmark Center. The event, which has taken place since 2003, isn't all "once upon a time." A global theme is chosen to complement the ideas behind...